The newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics annual report on occupational injuries for 2022 reveals a 7.7% increase from construction fatalities in 2021 and key considerations.

On December 19, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual report on occupational injuries for 2022. The report reveals 1,069 construction fatalities occurred in 2022, a 7.7% increase from 986 construction fatalities in 2021. The leading causes of construction industry fatalities remains what OSHA considers to be the “construction focus four hazards” which are falls (38%), struck by object or equipment (8%), electrocutions (6%), struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material (5%).

Some of the other key takeaways from the report are:

• The fatal work injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, up from 3.6 per 100,000 FTE in 2021 and up from the 2019 pre-pandemic rate of 3.5.
• A worker died every 96 minutes from a work-related injury in 2022.
• Workers in transportation and material-moving occupations experienced 1,620 fatal work injuries in 2022. These workers represent the occupational group with the highest number of fatalities. This is an increase of 6.4% from 2021. 
• Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event in 2022 with 2,066 fatal injuries, an increase of 4.2% from 2021. This major category accounted for 37.7% of all work-related fatalities for 2022. 
• Suicides increased 13.1% to 267 fatalities in 2022, after two consecutive years of declines.

This data reported by BLS makes it clear that there is more work to be done in the construction industry. Contractors should routinely review their safety programs and policies, provide training and education to their workers, and dedicate the necessary resources needed to keep construction workers safe on the job.

AGC of America offers a wide variety of safety and health materials to assist members with improving safety and health on their jobsites. To learn more about these resources, please visit www.agc.org/safety.

For more information, contact Nazia Shah at [email protected] or Kevin Cannon at [email protected].